This is a phenomenal bread recipe. The best, EASY yeast bread you will ever make, beginners love how simple it is while bread connoisseurs appreciate the Artisan bread qualities – the thick crispy crust and chewy crumb with big fat holes like sourdough!
No knead, 3 minutes active effort, very forgiving recipe. Make this today, then the Cheese Bread version tomorrow!

Phenomenal EASY yeast bread recipe
This is an extraordinary white bread recipe with outstanding results. While it’s easy and forgiving, making it suitable for beginners, experienced bakers will recognise and appreciate the Artisan bread characteristics – large holes in the crumb like your favourite sourdough bread with that signature chewiness, and a thick, crispy crust.
It’s a gold nugget recipe, and you may never buy bread again after trying this!
Here’s why it’s so easy:
No knead, no stand mixer
3 minutes active effort – you won’t even get your hands dirty
Dutch oven (cast iron pot) ideal but not necessary
Incredibly forgiving dough, with rise times ranging from 2 hours to 3 days (yes, really, you choose what works for you)
Easy but yet no compromise on quality of bread

What you need to make this homemade bread recipe
Here’s what you need to make homemade bread from scratch – yeast, flour, salt and water. Yep, really, that’s it!
No yeast?
Make this famous Irish Soda Bread instead, or this incredible No Yeast Sandwich bread based on the traditional Australian Damper!

Yeast – my base recipe uses Rapid Rise or Instant Yeast which does not need to be dissolved in water. But it works just as well with normal yeast (“Active Dry Yeast” or just “dry yeast”) – you just need to change the order of the steps and dissolve the yeast in water first. The bread comes out exactly the same!
Best flour for homemade bread – use bread flour if you can. Bread flour has more protein in it than normal flour which means more gluten, and this makes the dough more elastic and yields a more fluffy yet chewy texture inside the bread, as well as creating the big holes you see in the photos, like sourdough bread. However, this bread is still spectacular made with normal flour too!
How to make the world’s easiest homemade bread – Artisan style!
Here are process steps with tips, but also see the video below – super handy to see the dough consistency, and how to form the dough.
1. Make wet sticky dough

Mix together the flour, salt and yeast, then add warm water and mix. The “dough” will be very wet and sloppy, not kneadable at all – this is what you want! See video at 17 seconds for consistency.
2. Rise!

Cover with cling wrap then place it in a warm place (25 – 30°C / 77 – 86°F) for 2 hours. The dough will increase in volume by double or more, the surface will become bubbly and the dough will be wobbly, like jelly. See video at 24 seconds for consistency.
OPTIONAL – develop flavour: Once dough has risen, you can bake immediately. OR, for better flavour, refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours, up to 3 days. Time = better flavour development.
Bread in photos and video were baked immediately. I usually make this dough in the morning, refrigerate all day then bake in the evening. Or make the dough in the evening, refrigerate overnight and bake fresh in the morning! (10 – 12 hours in fridge). Beauty of this bread is that you can bake anytime!
No dutch oven? No problem! Just bake it on a tray – see the recipe notes.
3. Preheat oven & pot

30 minutes before dough has risen, or while refrigerated dough is coming to room temperature, place dutch oven (cast iron pot) in the oven to preheat at 230°C/450°F.
Hot oven + hot pot = bread rising boost!
4. Scrape dough out

Scrape dough out of bowl onto floured work surface. It will be wet and sticky and that’s exactly what you want – because we will not be kneading it! In fact, you won’t even touch it with your hand.
PRO TIP: Dough handling and shaping technique devised to minimise addition of flour. Less flour = wetter dough = bigger air pockets, fluffier bread and more moist.
5. Shape the dough very roughly

Use a dough scraper or anything of similar shape (spatula, cake server, or large knife) to fold the sides in so it roughly resembles a round disc.
Don’t get too hung up on the shaping – you’ll deform it in the next step!! This step is mainly to deflate the dough.
6. FLIP dough upside down onto paper

Slide a large piece of baking / parchment paper next to the dough, then flip it upside down onto the paper using the scraper so the seams from the step above are face down, and you have the smooth side up.
Slide/push the dough into the centre, then briefly reshape it into a round or slightly oval shape.
Do not get too hung up on a neat shape – this bread is supposed to be rustic! Besides, scruffier shape = more awesome crispy ridges
7. Prepare to bake!

Remove very hot pot from oven, then use paper to pick up the dough and put it in the pot, and put the lid on.
See recipe notes for no dutch oven method.
8. Bake!

Bake for 30 minutes with the lid on (this creates a steamer effect, allowing the bread to rise while it cooks before crust sets), then 12 minutes with the lid off to brown and crisp up the crust. The surface will crack – and you want this, for extra crispy ridges!! And it looks authentic, just like the Artisan bread you buy at bakeries. 😇
Cool for 10 minutes before slicing. This is important – to let the centre of the bread finish cooking (if you slice too early, it will seem a bit doughy. Patience was never my greatest virtue, so I learnt this first hand!)
Remember – you can make this bread recipe WITHOUT a dutch oven!

Why this bread recipe works – and TIPS!
Loose, sticky dough = easier to rise than firmer dough.
No kneading = rough dough, but because the dough is so soft, it puffs up enough to “smooth out” the roughness.
Super forgiving dough – too stiff, add water. Too wet, add flour. Dough not rising? Move it to a warmer place. Takes 45 minutes to rise or 5 hours? It will still work. As long as your dough is the same consistency as what you see in the video and you let it rise to double the volume, this bread recipe will work as long as the yeast is not past its expiry date!
Why you need a preheated dutch oven for no knead bread recipes – to create a steamy environment to give the bread a rise boost before the crust sets (which stops the bread from rising). Professional bakeries are equipped with steam ovens – the cast iron pot is the home method!
Don’t have a dutch oven? No problem! Recreate the steamy environment by placing hot water in a pan in the oven, and bake the bread on a tray.
Big holes in the crumb – loose dough from less flour, high oven temp and preheated pot allows the yeast to give the bread a great rise boost, creating big air pockets. Also the use of bread flour rather than normal flour helps – you get less large holes using normal flour.
Bake immediately if it’s a bread emergency….
…but you’ll be rewarded with tastier bread if you leave the dough 8+ hours in the fridge! I normally make dough first thing in the morning (it takes 3 minutes!) then bake that night. Or make dough at night and bake in the morning. (~12 hrs in fridge for both scenarios)
Why refrigerating the dough creates a better tasting bread – because the fridge slows down the fermentation of the yeast (ie dough stops rising, if it kept rising it would kill the rising power of the yeast), allowing the enzymes in the yeast to do their work, transforming starch into sugar which creates a more flavourful bread. So we let the dough rise first, then refrigerate it.


All the ways to eat this bread!
Everything you do with bread you buy, you can do with this bread. It truly has the structure of bakery bread, so there are no limits!
Eat it fresh out of the oven, slathered with butter. Make sandwiches, toast it, mop plates clean, dunk it in soups and stews. Make bruschetta, garlic bread, grilled cheese, CHEESY garlic bread or Cheese and Garlic CRACK Bread!
I hope you enjoy this crusty bread recipe as much as I do. This really is one of those gold nugget recipes that you’ll make once and treasure forever! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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World’s Easiest Yeast Bread recipe – Artisan, NO KNEAD
Ingredients
- 3 cups (450g) flour , bread or plain/all purpose (Note 1)
- 2 tsp instant or rapid rise yeast (Note 2 for normal / active dry yeast)
- 2 tsp cooking / kosher salt , NOT table salt (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 cups (375 ml) very warm tap water , NOT boiling or super hot (ie up to 55°C/130°F) (Note 4)
Dough shaping
- 1 1/2 tbsp flour , for dusting
Instructions
- Mix Dough: Mix flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add water, then use the handle of a wooden spoon to mix until all the flour is incorporated. Dough will be wet and sloppy – not kneadable, but not runny like cake batter. Adjust with more water or flour if needed for right consistency (see video at 17 sec, Note 5).
- Rise: Cover with cling wrap or plate, leave on counter for 2 – 3 hours until it doubles in volume, it’s wobbly like jelly and the top is bubbly (see video at 24 seconds). If after 1 hour it doesn’t seem to be rising, move it somewhere warmer (Note 6).
- Optional – refrigerate for flavour development (Note 9): At this stage, you can either bake immediately (move onto Step 5) or refrigerate for up to 3 days.
- Take chill out of refrigerated dough – if you refrigerated dough per above, leave the bowl on the counter for 45 – 60 minutes while the oven is preheating. Cold dough does not rise as well.
- Preheat oven (Note 7) – Put dutch oven in oven with lid on (26cm/10" or larger). Preheat to 230°C/450°F (220° fan) 30 minutes prior to baking. (Note 8 for no dutch oven)
- Shape dough: Sprinkle work surface with 1 tbsp flour, scrape dough out of bowl. Sprinkle top with 1/2 tbsp flour.
- Using a dough scraper or anything of similar shape (cake server, large knife, spatula), fold the sides inwards (about 6 folds) to roughly form a roundish shape. Don’t be too meticulous here – you’re about to deform it, it’s more about deflating the bubbles in the dough and forming a shape you can move.
- Transfer to paper: Slide a large piece of parchment/baking paper (not wax paper) next to the dough, then flip the dough upside down onto the paper (ie seam side down, smooth side up). Slide/push it towards the middle, then reshape it into a round(ish) shape. Don't get too hung up about shape. In fact, lopsided = more ridges = more crunchy bits!
- Dough in pot: Remove piping hot dutch oven from oven. Use paper to place dough into pot, place lid on.
- Bake 30 minutes covered, then 12 minutes uncovered or until deep golden and crispy.
- Cool on rack for 10 minutes before slicing.
Recipe Notes:
- Fridge up to 3 days – Rise dough per recipe, then leave in bowl and refrigerate up to 3 days. Flavour gets better with time. Dough will stay bubbly for a day or two, then will deflate – that’s fine. Shape into round and place on paper per recipe, then leave for 45 – 60 minutes to take the chill out of it, then bake per recipe. Cold dough won’t rise as well.
- Bread in photos & video is 2 hr rise, immediate bake.
- Cooked bread – great fresh for 2 days, then after that, better warmed or toasted. Keep in an airtight container or ziplock bag. This stays more fresh than usual homemade bread, especially if you use bread flour.
- Freeze cooked bread for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
More bread recipes
Life of Dozer
Just keeping a close eye on it for me….

Good job Dozer. Here’s your treat. Look, I even buttered it for you! (PS He’s in his robe because it’s a rainy day yet I still took him to the beach!!!)

wondering if anyone tried this mixing in nuts or sunflower seeds or other?
Best bread recipe ever! First time and it came out incredibly!
My husband and I are hooked on this bread. It’s so easy and fail proof. Thank you!
What a great recipe! So easy. I mixed it in the evening and put it in the fridge overnight. Doing it again tonight for tomorrow’s sandwiches. Thanks Nagi – you are a champion. (Not long before we pick up the new book!!!!!!!!)
Hi, Have tried making this bread a few times and all works really well except that it is quite dense and heavy(?).
The texture isn’t what I’d call light and fluffy, more dense and cake like?
I am using bread flour and the last yeast I used was an active dry yeast.
Any thoughts?
Cheers, John
Hi
I love this recipe!..would also love to know the recipe for the whole wheat version…is that possible to send that too pls
Hello, can anyone tell me if the oven temperature for this bread recipe (and all of Nagi’s recipes) are Fan -Forced?
Thankyou
Emma
Fan forced as convention oven?
If you cook it in a Dutch oven, there’s no use for circulating air.
If you read her recipe she specifies the fan temp in step 5. You can assume the other temps are for a non-fan setting ie convection.
Thank you so much for such a great recipe! I’ve always had trouble making bread or anything with yeast, but this came out perfectly on the first try! It was very easy to follow as well. Only one question. The texture was fantastic, but the bottom crust was very hard. Anything I can do about that? I would love for it to be a bit more like the texture of the top if possible. Thanks!
Make sure you remove the bread from the Dutch oven as soon as it comes out of the oven, so the bottom doesn’t keep cooking. Also, if you wait to eat it until the next day the crust becomes softer.
I put a sheet pan on the bottom rack. Otherwise, the bottoms are normally hard-ish
Hi Serenity! Do you just put the empty baking sheet on the bottom rack while the Dutch oven is on the higher rack?
I have a question! I keep having problems with the bottom of my bread burning or just getting way too well done where it’s super hard and dark. How do I fix this? Especially with Dutch oven. Thank you for the help
Place your dutch oven on an upper rack
I put a spacer inside the dutch oven. The ones I do not have a proper sized one for I made it with an aluminum disposable pie pan. I found out you need to poke holes in it in order to get the proper browning on the bottom.
Make sure you remove the bread from the Dutch oven as soon as it comes out of the oven, so the bottom doesn’t keep cooking. Also, if you wait to eat it until the next day the crust becomes softer.
Put a baking sheet under the pan while baking – I do this for the entire baking time and comes out perfect
Do you put the sheet pan on the rack below the Dutch oven or do you set the Dutch oven on the sheet pan?
I have just made this with my 3 year old and is almost all gone!
Can you double this batch?
I agree that the weight in grams of the flower is incorrect it should not be 450 it should be 360 so definitely keep that in mind if you measure by weight rather than cups. With that being said excellent! It turned out just excellent it was super easy I can’t wait to make more thank you for the recipe delicious. The perfect chewy crossed soft airy Center top notch
I’ve just made this for the first time and in the UK so I used the grams measurement of 450g. Just realised 3 cups=360g. What should I expect my bread to turn out like?? Does any Me know why the recipe hasn’t been corrected if it is wrong in that aspect for the flour?? Thanks and excited!!!
Thank you so much for the tip on the amount of flour! After the first time I made this recipe I started weighing the flour instead of measuring it. I have not been able to figure out what was wrong until I saw your comment. I just made a loaf with the corrected weight for the flour and it is so much better! Like the first time I made it.
Hey, thank you for your comment. Did you use all purpose or bread flour?
TIA,
Danielle
I just realized I might have used more water than neccesary. My dough was sticky and wet, not like batter but not as firm as others in other recipes. Mine is already resting in the refrigerator. What should I do before baking?
Sticky dough should not be a problem. If you get it too wet, just add a tablespoon of flour to it, work it in and see what you think. It is one of those recipes that really is quite forgiving.
Best and bread I’ve ever made! I didn’t refrigerate it, baked it in a regular pan without water and was soft and chewy and so so good!
I’ve made this loads and love it. Now the question is…. Does it work the same with wholemeal flour?
how long did you bake?
Made this twice and the bread is so delicious! However the bottom is burning at 450° with 30 minutes. I believe the burn is occurring when I remove the lid to finish, usually about 8 minutes. Should I lower the temp or the covered lid time?
450ºf is too hot!
Ummm so I just put all the ingredients together and realised I have used wholemeal self raising flour!!! Any ideas if this will work? Or shall i restart..
I am afraid you will have to restart as self rising will not work in this recipe.
Love this so much, I made another as soon as I tasted the first bite, as I knew it’d be gone in moments with my family. Well done!
Made this for my wedding and served with fresh churned honey cinnamon, garlic ans herb butters. A home favorite and the smell of it baking is just devine!
This bread turned out good, but for me it had a strong yeast taste. Can I put a little less yeast in to lessen the strong yeast flavor?
Yeah I think you can, you might have to wait a bit longer for it to double but it should work out for sure with less yeast..
Pure perfection! Didn’t have a cast iron Dutch oven so I just used my oven proof pot with a glass lid- had to lower the oven rack. Followed exactly as written although my dough wasn’t that sticky but it still came out so beautifully and tasted as good as it looked. Thanks so much for sharing!
Made this bread last night. It’s everything all the positive comments say. I could’t believe my success, even at the high elevation where I reside. I used Artisan Bread Flour, with the 3 cup measurement as 450 g was too much flour. Had to add a little more water to get the consistency shown, AND had to lower the oven temperature by 20 degrees after 20 minutes. As stated, the recipe is very forgiving. It was perfect!
Thank you for this! I am also at high elevation (5000 ft in CO), so will use your tips to help me!
Brilliant, your a genius with this recipe. So easy, so delicious
Thank you so much I am delighted and will keep making this bread. ❤️🍞❤️